The New 'Hidan'
by Blazing Sonic
Summary: Kakuzu barely escaped with his life, but Hidan wasn't so lucky. Fortunately for him, Pain had Hidan's replacement on standby. How will Kakuzu work with another immortal Jashinist with the same abilities as the last?
1. The New Blood

**This story is NOT going along with the original storyline. This is an alternate storyline.**

**The New Blood**

Kakuzu barely escaped the battle that had taken place in the Forest of Death. He knew that things would've gone swimmingly had it not been for Hidan's recklessness. Thanks to him, Kakuzu lost another one of his hearts and almost lost his life. The only thing gained from it all was Hidan's fate. Kakuzu had no clue to exactly what happened to him and didn't care to know.

"That jinchuuriki almost had me. Luckily, you came to help me," he said as he looked onto his companions, Deidara and Tobi. He was sitting aboard one of Deidara's clay birds. "Pain-sempai told us to come and assist you since you two were having trouble with those Leaf ninja!" Tobi said as he crossed his arms. Kakuzu scoffed before wincing in pain from his injuries. "Assist? What would you have done, Tobi?" "Absolutely nothing," Deidara answered for his teammate.

Switching the subject, Deidara asked, "Now where is Hidan?" Just hearing that name earned a low growl from the battered Kakuzu. "Who cares? I know I saw that shadow-manipulating kid come out of the forest when we left, so Hidan must've lost his head again, physically and mentally." Tobi's head popped up when he heard the remark. "Physically?" he trembled as he placed both hands on his neck. "Hey, none of that, Tobi!" Deidara barked at his teammate. "Sorry, sempai," Tobi bowed his head, but went too low, lost his balance, and nearly fell off the bird.

Kakuzu couldn't help but chuckle. "I wouldn't mind being teamed up with someone like Tobi. I'd rather have a clown than an arrogant prick as a partner," Tobi cocks his head to the side. He didn't know whether to take that as a compliment or an insult. "Hmm, lucky for you, you might get just that," Deidara informed the older man. Kakuzu looked up at the mad bomber ninja. "What do you mean by that?" he asked. Tobi popped up in Deidara's face and loudly shushed him. "Deidara-sempai! I thought we were going to surprise him!" he whined. Deidara frowned and ranted back, "No! When I said 'Drop a bomb on him', I meant that I was gonna drop one of my most powerful works of art on that damned Hatake bastard! What the hell were you thinking?" The argument between the two went on as Kakuzu slowly tuned them out. _"I know that Hidan was a prick, but still, he's the only one who's compatible with me. What does Pain have in mind?"_ he wondered.

After a few hours of flight, the trio had reached the Akatsuki base. They leapt off the clay bird and Deidara reverted it back to normal size. "Well gentleman, shall we go?" Deidara suggested. This made Kakuzu suspicious. "Deidara's behavior is strange. He's not this polite, I know that." They got to the entrance and Deidara made a hand sign. "Release!" The huge boulder disappeared, revealing the interior of the cave. The three men walked inside and the boulder materialized back into its original position. Inside, they were greeted by the sight of the holographic form of their fellow members and also a new face. This new guy was young looking. He had black, spiky hair that went down to his back and a pair of lazy eyes like Sasori. Along with everyone else, he adorned the Akatsuki trademark: the long black cloak with red clouds. "Ah, welcome back, Deidara, Tobi, and Kakuzu," Pain welcomed the men. The young boy bowed to them as well. Not one to beat around the bush, Kakuzu asked, "What's the meaning of this boy being here?" Pain chuckled and replied with, "Always the professional businessman," He, too, wanted to get down to the nitty-gritty of this meeting. "Well, I regret to inform you all that Hidan has fallen," he told the group. Kisame just chuckled at hearing that. "So Mr. Immortal finally bit off more than he could chew? It was gonna happen eventually, but I wasn't expecting it to be so soon," he said as his chuckles grew louder.

Remaining cool and calm, Itachi asked, "How could they beat him? I know that most of us are more powerful than him, but still, his immortality makes him a tough opponent to take down," "Not really," Zetsu interjected. "With no body, Hidan can't do a thing. That's what happened to him. He got careless, no surprise there, and that brat from the Nara clan blew him to bits and buried him under a ton of boulders," Hearing that, Kisame laughed even louder at the scenario. "A fitting end for the Immortal Asshole!" he commented. Pain shot a glared at the sword-wielder. "Calm yourself, Kisame. A member of us has fallen, so we should mourn him," he reminded him. "Mourn him? Can't do that for someone who can't die," Deidara remarked as he rolled his eyes. He thought back to when he last saw him.

_Deidara's flashback:_

"_Look out for the Kyuubi jinchuuriki, Uzumaki Naruto," he warned him. Hidan laugh at the warning before firing back an ill-mannered response. "Why? Was he too strong for your 'art', Mr. Former Amputee? Lucky for you, Kakuzu sewed your arms back on!" "Even without arms, at least he's able to fight back, Mr. Lost His Head and Became a Sniveling Crybaby," Kakuzu said, trying to level the field. "What the fuck? Kakuzu, you bastard! Don't piss me off, you old rag doll!" Hidan raged on. Kakuzu didn't pay his threats any mind. "You'd do well to listen when someone is warning you. That arrogance will come back and bite you in the ass. Or probably just bite your head off," was all he said before Pain demanded order._

"Umm, excuse me?" said a timid voice that snapped Deidara out of his daydream. The group turned to see that the new guy had something to say. "Hidan-sempai can die if he has no nutrients. That's the only way to kill a Jashinist," he said in a quiet voice. Everyone raised a brow, this was info that no one had ever known before. "So how would you know that?" Deidara asked. He took a good look to see that the boy was wearing the same necklace as Hidan! "Wait, you're in that weird cult, too?" Kakuzu inquired. The boy nods. "I'm Kengo. I'm the second Jashinist to have obtained immortality," he introduced himself. Everyone, with the exception of Pain, was surprised. Tobi broke the silence and ran up to Kengo and shook his hand like he was on steroids. "Nice to meet you! I'm Tobi!" he happily said, still shaking his hand. "Well, at least this zombie's got manners," Kisame commented. "Kisame, that 'zombie', as you like to call him, possesses the same skills to Hidan, but he's far superior to his sempai," Pain informed. Deidara's eyes widened as he said, "This kid's stronger than Hidan? I doubt it," "Kid? I'll have you know that I'm 20, bozu!" Kengo argued back. Both Kisame and Tobi burst out laughing as Deidara's jaw dropped. "20? He doesn't look it," he mumbled. "This guy's 20, so that really does make you a bozu, Deidara!" Kisame laughed even harder. Tobi started doing a little dance as he sung, "Deidara-bozu! Deidara-bozu! Deidara-bozu!" In an act of embarrassment and rage, Deidara pounced on the dancing Tobi, making Kisame laugh even harder.

All the commotion stopped once Kakuzu cleared his throat. He walked up to get a better look at Kengo. "So, you have the same abilities as Hidan, but even better? And you're not coming off as a prick," he surmised. "Where are you from?" Kengo just didn't know how to explain it, but he did the best he could. "I'm not from a village like you guys. I grew up in the wild," he said. Kakuzu narrowed his eyes. His green irides seem like they could start glowing at any moment. Finally, Kakuzu released a sigh before turning around. "So you've already had Hidan's replacement ready just in case, huh, Pain?" Pain's silence was enough to confirm Kakuzu's assumption. The dark-skinned Akatsuki looked over his shoulder at his newly-assigned partner. "Once I get my strength back, I'm going to test you," he said before he started to walk away. Kengo eyes widened, he didn't like the tone of Kakuzu's voice when he said that. Konan, who had silently observed the whole scene, passed a quick glance over to Pain. She was worried about Kengo's safety, but Pain shot back a glance to signal her that he'll be alright. "Heh, I hope your fighting is as good as your manners, kid! Otherwise, Kakuzu will have you wishing that you could die if he gets his hands on you!" Kisame warned, still laughing a little from Kengo's 'bozu' comment. "Kisame that's enough!" Itachi said, unusually agitated. "Oh, don't worry. I've seen him in action. Though he has the same general techniques as Hidan, there's more to this boy than he appears!" Zetsu informed the shark man. Pain shifts his gaze through the whole group until he saw Deidara still choking out Tobi. "Deidara! Tobi! Knock it off!" he barked at them, causing the pair to stop. "We will remain here to see how well Kengo-kun fares. Understood?" Everyone nods to show that they were going along with it. "Kengo-kun, huh?" Konan finally spoke. "Seems like you like this kid, already." Pain closed his eyes as he said, "Perhaps."

**Now I know some of you think that I'm adding a little OOC-ness, but it's kinda hard to do when you have to include so many characters in one chapter. I'm just trying to move the story along while also trying to retain each character's personality. (Though I think I'm pretty shaky on it. Some personalities I'm better with than others.)**


	2. A Bloody Test

**Bloody Test**

A half an hour had passed since Pain called off the meeting in favor of seeing how the newest Akatsuki member, Kengo, would fare against his appointed partner, Kakuzu. Kakuzu took the time to search through the surrounding forest to find some herbs used to heal wounds. Unfortunately, he couldn't find a new mask to cover his 'unique' face. Despite the healing treatment, he was still feeling pain. All of the herbs in the world couldn't help him retrieve the hearts he had lost against the Konoha shinobi. He stood up with his legs shaking like a newborn calf. "Damn it…" he cursed out as he took a step and felt a sharp pain. He stopped only for a brief moment and said, "Come out, Deidara," The bomb specialist appeared from behind a tree.

"Eh, Kakuzu," he started out. Kakuzu stood there with a glare. "What do you want? I'm in no mood to talk," he said in his usual pissed-off tone. Deidara chuckled a bit. Typical Kakuzu. "Look, I know you don't want to deal with another immortal wise guy, so make sure you take him down, got it?" Deidara finally said his peace. Kakuzu narrowed his eyes. "Why did you change your mind so soon, Deidara? Weren't you busy sporting that annoying smirk of yours when you found out that Hidan was gone?" the older man asked. Leave it to Kakuzu to see through deception. Deidara's arms trembled as he felt his blood pressure rise. Kakuzu could sense that he hit a nerve…but so soon? Sure, Deidara's barely any better than Hidan in the temper department, but he at least could take more verbal punishment than that. "I know! I know, Kakuzu-sempai!" Tobi chimed in, startling both men. The masked man was watching the whole thing from a hole he dug in the ground. "Tobi! How long have you been there?" asked a frustrated Deidara. Tobi took a look into the sky before answering. "Judging from the sun's position, I've been here for about 20 minutes, Deidara-sempai." Both men were surprised at the statement.

"_Twenty minutes? So he's been here for as long as I have!"_ Kakuzu's mind went into shock.

"_I haven't been here for five minutes yet! How the hell could that bumbling Tobi find Kakuzu before I have?"_ Deidara couldn't believe it.

Deciding to break the awkward silence, Kakuzu spoke up. "Tell me the reason for Deidara's unusual behavior, Tobi." The masked ninja chuckled before bursting from the ground like a mole in a cartoon. "Simple…" Then he started to dance around. "Because Deidara-sempai is both angry and jealous!" Kakuzu didn't say a word. Deidara's face flushed red. "Angry and jealous?" Kakuzu finally spoke. Tobi finally stopped dancing. "Yep! Kengo-kohai called Deidara 'kohai' instead of 'sempai'! That's why Deidara-sempai is acting this way: because Kengo-kohai is older than him!" "Eh, shut up, Tobi!" Deidara finally lost his nerve. Kakuzu just narrowed his eyes. "I can see why: him calling you 'sempai' when he's older than you. I'd call you 'kohai' too if I were him. Not that I'd bother to use honorifics anyway." Kakuzu took a deep breath and made his way back to the hideout. "Well, time to go back."

The trio made their way back to the hideout to see the holographic images of their fellow Akatsuki and the real form of Akatsuki try-out, Kengo. "Welcome back," Pain greeted them as Kengo politely bowed. Kakuzu clenched his fists tightly as he took in a deep breath. This gesture made Kengo straightened up even more than before. He had no clue on Kakuzu's fighting style while it was the exact opposite in Kakuzu's case…generally speaking. "Though you may be stronger than Hidan, I doubt you'll pass the test," Kakuzu stated. Kengo gulped and asked, "And what would that be, sempai?" "You must survive a 15 minute match against him," Kisame interjected from the side. "Yes, it's how it works here. New recruits fight against whomever they're paired with," Pain informed the young man. Kengo took a bigger gulp. "Fifteen minutes?" "Hey, don't get cold feet, kid!" Deidara taunted. "Yeah, kohai! You can do it!" Tobi cheered out, earning a stomp on the foot from Deidara.

Without any warning, Kakuzu dashed toward Kengo, appearing in his face in an instant. "He's fast!" Kengo thought to himself. "Too slow," Kakuzu said as he threw a punch. The punch was coming at an even greater speed, more instantaneous than Kakuzu's dash. But at that moment, Kengo zipped away. Kakuzu's fist met the air as he staggered forward from the force of his movements. He looked around for the young trainee. "Well, he's a fast one!" Kisame remarked. "Indeed," Pain agreed. Itachi stood vigilant as his eyes shifted to one side. All of the other Akatsuki began to look around for Kengo. "He's must be hiding," white Zetsu concludes. "Not likely. With us all here, there are no hiding spots. Even if he could turn invisible, he'd still be sensed," the black half argued. "That's because he's constantly moving at a very high speed," Itachi spoke up. "We already had that established, Itachi," Deidara responded. "Right, Tobi?" "Yes sir, sempai!" the goofy man saluted. Itachi just shook his head. "You don't get it. He's moving so fast that I can barely keep track of him…even with my Sharigan," the stoic shinobi explained. This earned surprised looks from everyone in the room. Even Kakuzu stopped and cringed once he heard that. "But…" Itachi broke the silence. "From what I see, it appears his chakra is of the Wind nature. Obviously, he's using some sort of jutsu that uses the wind to increase his speed."

Kengo finally appeared behind Kakuzu. "He's right. I can use Wind jutsu. But that's not all I can do, sempai." Kakuzu didn't seem too impressed. But then again, there hasn't been much to impress the old dog these days. "At least this Jashinist can use ninjutsu rather than talking about unnecessarily drawn-out curses and rituals all day," he remarked. Then he formed a hand sign. "Still…" In an instant, Kakuzu had Kengo in a headlock. "It'll take more than that to pass my test," he said as he squeezed tight. "A Water Clone!" Kengo strained out. He was paying so much attention behind him that he didn't notice what was coming in front of him: another speedy punch from Kakuzu. "Looks like he's screwed. His head's gonna get knocked clean off. And we all know what happens when a Jashinist is decapitated," Kisame commented. Hearing that, Kengo looked forward to see Kakuzu approaching. "Game over!" Kakuzu proclaimed as his fist soared right into Kengo's jaw, knocking off his head as Kisame had earlier stated. As the young man's head hit the ground a few feet away, Kakuzu narrowed his eyes as if something wasn't right: and he surely had a reason to. The headless body turned brown and became mushy, causing the Kakuzu clone to let it go. Everyone else's eyes widened.

"An Earth Style Shadow Clone?" Deidara gawked. Then the Kakuzu clone was slashed apart and reduced to water. Kakuzu's eyes widened when he noticed a set of long shiny claws attached to Kengo's hands. "I knew you would do that Kakuzu-sempai," he said with a grin. The boy straightened his stance and the claws retracted…into his skin! This brought on a big surprise. "At first glance, I thought they were weapons. But they were actually coming from his body!" White Zetsu said in surprise. "Hmm…Didn't Orochimaru used to have a guy who could do that?" the black side inquired. Pain nods in response. "Yes. But that man had a kekkei-genkai and he was the last of the Kaguya clan."

After that was said, Kengo held out his left arm to the side, and a giant blade shot out from his sleeve. The blade was red and serrated. He held this new blade to his body and let his index finger from his right hand glide over the underside of it. Blood trickled as he slowly brushed the serrated teeth this blade bared. "Sempai, this blade is stronger than the claws I just used. This blade is also very special. I call it: the Blood Cleaver," he explained, showing some pride. Kakuzu scoffed as he examined the blade. "If you think resorting to the powers of your religion will work on me, then you're dead wrong," he said. "No, sempai, I rarely use the power of Jashin-sama. Truthfully, it's not even my main perk," Kengo informed. "Allow me to show you." He stood up straight, seemingly dropping his guard. But no self-respecting elite ninja would drop his guard in the middle of a fight, no matter what. Then a burst of chakra shook the cave. "Hmm…his chakra's not bad," Kisame complimented. Itachi focused his eyes as he tried to see into his chakra flow. "His chakra is changing," he quietly said. "Yes, I see it too. This is different from anything I've seen before," Pain added. Tobi shivered like a scared dog in an old cartoon. Then he suddenly grabbed Deidara in a fear-induced embrace. "What's with you?" Deidara tried to break his grip. "I can feel his chakra too. It's so thick! It's like being submerged in a sea of blood!" the masked man stammered. Deidara was finally able to slip a hand out of Tobi's grasped and held a small explosive in his partner's face. With a small, yet startling, explosion that was no more than a small bang, Tobi let go. "Blood Style…" Kengo finally said, causing Kisame's eyes to suddenly widen. Kengo held up the Blood Cleaver and then suddenly jabbed it into his side. This act gained a surprised look from Kakuzu. "Iron Restraint!" he said as he suddenly snatched the blade out and blood gushed from his wound and onto the ground. The blood washed up against Kakuzu's feet, causing the older man to jump back a bit. He looked around to see if anything else was going to happen, but it was all quiet. Then he turned his attention back to an impaled Kengo, only to see that he was still fine as though nothing happened…big mistake.

Hands jumped out of the blood, grabbing Kakuzu and forcing him down in an instant. The other members were amazed. Kisame was the most shocked of them all. "So…that boy is from the Ayase clan," the shark man spoke out. "The Ayase clan?" Tobi repeated. "Yes. They're from the same village as me: Kirigakure. They were some creepy and powerful people," Kisame shut his eyes as he envisioned the tale he was about to weave. "The Ayase clan had a rare, yet vulgar kekkei-genkai. They're able to use the water within blood to attack in ways you couldn't imagine. It's usually called Crismon Style. But to those who really know it, like me, it's Blood Style," Meanwhile, Kakuzu is covered in a mass of blood that's impairing his movements. Upon a closer look, you could see Kengo's head sticking out of the mass with a content smile.

"So he uses Blood…big deal," Deidara scoffed. "Yes, it is a big deal," Kisame countered. "He can do virtually anything. All he needs is a sample of your blood by any means and his options are endless!" That line took Deidara aback. On the field, Kakuzu finally pulled off a Water Clone Jutsu to slip out of Kengo's bloody grip. But all that did was add more fuel to the fire. "Big mistake, Kakuzu-sempai," Kengo pointed out as he reformed, somehow still wet from the water. "The more water that's around, the more I have to strike you with." The water on his body turned to blood and seeped into his body. "Fire Style! Fireball Jutsu!" he exclaimed as he blasted a giant fireball. The chakra in this attack was huge and it was coming fast! "Damn! If only I could use the Earth Spear jutsu!" he grumbled to himself as he braced for the blast. But the blast fizzled out just inches from him.

Kengo could tell it was his victory. "I can use any jutsu as long as I have the blood of its user in my body. Also, I can even copy other kekkei-genkai as long as I have the users' blood. I have acquired the blood of many shinobi, as well as animals for enhanced senses. While your Earth Fear Grudge allows you to use multiple jutsu as long as you have the users' hearts, you can lose these abilities if you lose its corresponding heart. But my kekkei-genkai has no such limit. Once I have your blood, it's over. I have other abilities as well, but I'd rather not get into detail about them. And thanks to the powers of Jashin-sama, I can take my powers to the extreme. Combine Jashin-sama's gifts of immortality and the curse along with my control over blood, and you have the most powerful ninja alive!" Kengo's eyes gleamed after finishing that longwinded speech. Kakuzu knew his limits. "Abilities like his can make him a most useful ally," he commended. "He passes my test."

Deidara heard Kakuzu's approval and gritted his teeth. "So he gets to be part of the group because he overpowers his opponent. But I get dragged in for being utterly beaten by mine!" he said as visions of him being trapped in Itachi's genjutsu flashed. Kisame chuckled at Deidara's ramblings. "Be glad you were up against Itachi. If you were against this guy, it would've been much worse. He could've gotten some of your blood and use your own techniques against you," he informed him. "What's the difference?" Deidara asked rudely. "My Sharingan wouldn't be able to copy your jutsu since they're based around your kekkei-genkai and kinjutsu. But Kengo's kekkei-genkai will allow him to do it," Itachi explained undaunted.

"Ayase Kengo, you are officially part of the Akatsuki. Welcome, new comrade," Pain greeted. Kengo merely bowed as all the blood he made seeped back into his body. "I'm happy to be on board, sempai." Pain looked toward the other members. "Now that Kengo's one of us, we're still going strong to fulfill our goal. To catch the jinchuuriki and create nothing but pain as well as order," he said as he narrowed his eyes. "We do this, not only for us, but also for our fallen comrades: Sasori and Hidan." Deidara rolled his eyes. "Who gives a crap about those two?" he remarked. "Sempai!" Tobi shushed him. With his eyes fixed on the fuming Deidara, Pain says "This meeting is dismissed." With that, his hologram disappeared. One by one, the holographs of the other Akatsuki disappeared. "Have fun with this guy, Kakuzu!" Kisame chuckled before disappearing.

The only ones left were Deidara, Tobi, Kakuzu, and Kengo. "So…" Kengo broke the silence. "What on the agenda, sempais?" "Not our problem," Deidara scoffed as he released the seal on the boulder blocking the entrance, causing it to move out of the way. He began to make his way outside. "But Deidara-sempai…!" Tobi whined. "Shut up, Tobi!" Deidara snapped. "It's Kakuzu's call. We have nothing to do with their business." He took a clay bird and threw it up. "Katsu!" he exclaimed as the bird expanded ten times its size. "Come on, Tobi. We've got to continue tracking the Sanbi," Deidara reminded the masked man. "Ok!" Tobi saluted! Then he turned around and whispered, "He's still mad about the kohai remark". After that was said, he hopped on the bird and it suddenly took off like a jet plane. "Waaahhhh! Slow down, Deidara-sempai!" Tobi screeched as vanished into the sky.

"I take it that you want to go after the Kyuubi again, sempai?" Kengo asked his new partner. Kakuzu didn't respond. "I guess not," Kengo blinked. "Oh, wait!" he shot up. Four figures shot out from the forest. Each one came from a different direction. Kakuzu went on guard, but was quick to drop it when he saw who they were. "Kengo?" he blinked. Kengo chuckled a bit. "Yep. These are my clones. I call this jutsu: the Blood Brother Jutsu." "What's the meaning of this?" Kakuzu asked him. "Well, I know that you've lost four of your five hearts. So I made four Blood Brother clones and sent them to four different areas. They've successfully killed a ninja in each of the four areas and acquired their hearts," Kengo elaborated. One of the clones held up its hands as a still-beating heart morphed into its hand. "I did this before you got here. This is all for you, so you'll have all of your abilities again," he smiled. Kakuzu, usually the grump of the group, actually felt a little pleased. Normally, he's paired with idiots, weaklings, or a combination of both. At one point, it did seem that Hidan was the best partner in the world for him. But now, Kengo has proven to be far more tolerable within a few hours than Hidan has been his entire time in the Akatsuki. At the same time, Kengo's abilities are disturbing, and his docile mood becomes ruthless and full of malice in battle. "Could a person like this really exist?" Kakuzu asked as he assimilated his new hearts into his body.

**Okay, so it's been a while since I've been here. This chapter would've been uploaded a long time ago, but laziness struck me like Superman would when he became somewhat of a god after absorbing solar energy for 15 years straight. I'll try to update when I can. But with the semester starting up again, it'll be a struggle. Anyway, peace! **


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